Diamond And Ice: The Brothers Farseer
by Jakkani
Summary: Colin and Hayden Farseer lived the poor, hatred filled lifestyle of orphans. They steal and kill in order to feed themselves, using their mediocre bending talents.That is, until The Great Jubei Shitagami,the Burning Heart of Justice, comes along!CHP 3 UP!
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: Diamond and Ice

_Finally, I found him!_

Hayden yelled down the dirt road. "Colin! I'll kill you!"

Colin turned lazily, his travelers pack slung across his shoulder.

"H…Hayden?" His eyes widened in surprise.

The earth began to churn suddenly around the earthbender, spinning and warping and cracking, becoming a whirlpool of quicksand; he stood on a pillar in the middle of the sand vortex, weaving his hands around him in a circular pattern. The pillar rose in height, as did the sand vortex that rose with him, so that Hayden was ten feet off the ground. His red cloak billowed with the flowing sand, his simple red clothing likewise snapping and whipping as the sand vortex continued to spin.

Hayden outstretched his arms, his body forming a cross, the sand flowing around him, making a tornado of pure earth. He looked down at Colin and scowled.

Colin looked up at him, his mouth and eyes open wide in awe.

_Short shocks of blonde-white hair. Azure eyes. High cheekbones. Gap in the left eyebrow. _

It was him, there was no doubt; although he was a dozen years older, Colin still recognized him. He hadn't predicted this; he hadn't factored this into his calculations. Still, it was no big deal.

Colin recovered his composure. He hadn't lost it in years. "Ah, nii-chan!" He grinned, flipping his hair with the back of his hand, one hand on his blue sheath.

He sensed a change in the pattern of the flowing sand one instant before it whipped out, like a lash. Colin leapt back, the ground exploding where he just was, pulling his katana free from its sheath, holding it down and to the side. Hayden stared at the blade from his pedestal. He'd seen that blade before.

_So, this is Sange. Colin, of all people, has Sange._

Sange was a long katana, the blade purple as if light were always reflecting off of it. The long, thin steel was frosted over, and cold wisps of smoke rose off the steel; where the tip touched the rocky ground it instantly froze. The blade was only an inch thick, and four feet long. His clothes, an expensive robe of rich purples and whites and blues, seemed to be made to match the sword; the insignia of The Aesir was the only black, in the middle of his chest. His gloves and shoes were a bright, stainless white. His eyes, blue and cold as ice, danced with enjoyment, no longer shocked.

Colin spoke, his voice frayed and uneven, as if he were on the edge of sanity. "Well, brother. Alive, are you? I could've sworn I killed you years ago." His words were tinged with amusement.

Hayden didn't respond, gritting his teeth.

Colin cackled as he spoke. "You had potential at the academy, Hayden! What a waste... But I have no business with weaklings." He slashed with the blade, a powerful uppercut swing.

The frost seemed to fly off the blade at Hayden; a crescent shaped frost wave speeding at him, leaving ice crystals in its wake. The sand formed a shield in front of Hayden and solidified into diamonds, catching the wave head on. Still, he grit his teeth; his skin tinged with the intense cold of the wave. He split the sand shield in two, preparing to counter attack, but a bleached white boot shot through the gap, kicking him in the throat. Hayden fell off his pillar and down to the ground, smashing into the ground with a crash. Colin landed next to him, his landing light and effortless.

Colin bent and lifted him off the ground by the throat effortlessly as Hayden squirmed in his iron grip.

He smiled, resheathing his blade with his free hand.

"You still don't know how to pick your battles. Tsk. And you've stained me with your sweat, too. You scum."

Colin casually brushed his blonde hair back from his eyes with his free hand. Still, Hayden squirmed.

Hayden spoke through bloody gritted teeth. "God…God damn you…Colin, you-"

"You should've just ran, Hayden," interrupted Colin. "Ran and lived. But no, you had to find me. You're a fool." He pulled the blade from its sheath with his free hand and slashed downwards.

Hayden looked down from where he was being held in the air. His arm was on the ground, like some piece of a broken, cheap marionette. The wires that were connected to his arm sparked and fizzed. The fingers twitched. His mind couldn't understand what his eyes saw. Blood shot out of his shoulder.

Pain exploded in him, leaving him breathless; his eyes widened, his pupils shrunk, all while Colin smirked at him. Colin cocked his head, looking at him with an "Oops, did I do that?" expression.

Colin, muttered, "Nii-san, haven't we done this once before?" His tone was innocently mocking.

Hayden's mind was racing with cold panic and searing pain, fraying his thought patterns to shreads.

_I need to run. I need to run._ _I need to run. I need to run. I need to run. I need to run. I need to run. I need to run. I need to run. I need to run._

His life flashed before his eyes.

**(A/N) **This was an interesting concept I thought up while eating breakfast. Lemme know if you like it, and I will continue to write more. C:

Oh, and I wasn't sure about the names. Their original names were "Shouji" and "Kyo", but I figured that since Avatar is more cartoon than anime, I should give them Japanese names. Tell me what you guys think.

-Jakkani


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**** Whenever you notice a straight line, it's supposed to be a change of PoV (Point of View). Colin, Hayden, and Jubei are all PoV characters. Italicized words are thoughts that aren't said aloud. Drop me a review and tell me what to fix/change, or if you like it how it is that's fine too. C:**

**Edit: Italics have been fixed as of 5/27/2010. Enjoy!**

**-Jakkani**

**Chapter Two: Jubei Shitagami!**

"No, Colin, I can't."

"Pllleaaassee?"

"No! I told you, we can't play. Not now. I have things to do, and you know that." Hayden pushed his younger brother off of him. He was annoying, beyond annoying.

Colin landed on his butt with a thud on the packed dirt floor. He looked up at him with lime-green puppy-dog eyes, tears beginning to welt. Hayden had pushed him a bit harder than he meant to.

_Whatever._

"I'll be back before sunset. Take care of Margaret." Hayden turned to leave, Colin still wiping the tears from his eyes with a dirty sleeve. He was abnormally jealous of attention, even for a thirteen year old. He brushed a white-gold lock of hair behin his ear as he yelled.

"All you care about is Margaret, Hayden! I hate you!" His voice was shrill and high pitched. Margaret, seemingly in response, stirred in her sleep.

She was a sickly little thing, only four years, but Hayden couldn't afford to buy her medicine. Colin, likewise, was sickly and skinny, but he'd managed to live so far. Hayden, somehow, was the only healthy one.

"Margaret is younger than you, and sicker than you. I _have_ to give her more attention, you know that. Watch after her until I get back. Make sure she drinks plenty of water, and change her if she needs it. " He turned, without another word, leaving their little home. He had to crawl to get through the tunnel, but it wasn't long. He slid out of the tunnel and into the drizzling rain, brushing himself off. He rolled the boulder in front of the entrance with his shoulder; He stepped back a moment, staring at it.

They essentially lived in a cave, and the boulder, about as big as his torso, was so perfectly sized that it was basically impossible to tell that there was an entrance to anything at all when pushed perfectly over the hole.

There was nothing in front of the boulder, so that it was easy to push out but hard to slide to the side. This ensured that it was easy for Colin and Margaret to exit, but hard to get in for anyone else. He turned, satisfied, and worked his way down the uneven dirt path to the main road.

He finally came to it, The Gold Road. It seemed to spread infinitely North and South, and was frequently traveled by trading caravans and deserting soldiers.

He crouched in the bushes on the side of the dirt road, waiting for anything.

The rain continued to fall for an hour, slowly gaining intensity.

* * *

Jubei Shitagami wished his chestnut mare would go faster. Instead, it plodded along at a steady pace, taking its sweet ass time getting to Gao Ling. And, even worse, the rain fell like no other, falling almost horizontally. Great green oaks towered above him on both sides of the road, their leaves bustling wildly with the wind.

Jubei brushed a wet black bang from his eyes, staring up at the sky. The rain fell in thick, stinging sheets. The sun was hidden behind clouds, but he was sure it was late in the evening. Still, the rain was quite refreshing; it was the kind of rain where there were drenching torrents of water, but no thunder.

He sighed. He was hoping to at least make it to Gao Ling by tonight. He dismounted, landing in the muddy dirt of The Gold Road. He could remember perfectly what the bartender of The Pig and Whistle had told him:

_"If you're looking for somewhere to compete, go to Gao Ling; It's a small town nestled in The Orange Mountains of the southern Earth Kingdom. The city is essentially divided in half, like many Earth Nation cities."_

_He set down the mug he was polishing, leaning casually on the bar with one arm._

_"Half of the city is industrious and powerful, particularly the Bei Fong family, and the other half is a place of extreme poverty. The middle-classed traders live somewhere in the middle, but they are few and far between. Apparently, from what I've heard, it's also a place for earth benders to perfect their craft, in the Earth Rumble Tournaments."_

Jubei lightly grabbed the horse's reins, and sighed again. He'd have to lead it somewhere to rest for the night, and then he'd have to sleep under some rock until the rain passed.

_Feh. I can wait until tomorrow; After all, this isn't the first time it's happened to a man like the legendary traveler Jubei Shitagami!_

And so, with a small conceited smirk, he began to turn off the road, and noticed that something was wrong. Through the drenching rain, on the side of the road, his skilled eyes could barely make out an unnaturally cracked twig on the muddy ground. Something had stepped on it.

He frowned, narrowing his eyes at the twig.

_A deer, surely. Or a boar._

Still, he loosened the sword in his sheath as he guided his mare down the side of the road.

He only had an instant of warning before the ground rose up and wrapped around his ankle like a snake. He ripped the sword free from its sheath and pulled his foot free of the earth; the earth changed again, wrapping around one leg and then the other. His eyes shot around, looking for the earthbender. He was nearby, but he couldn't see him; the rain already gave him reduced visibility.

The earth climbed him as he struggled, until it eventually swallowed him all the way up to the shoulders. He braced himself mentally, and waited for his attacker to show himself.

_Silly thief. Evildoers should beware me, not attack me! Obviously he doesn't know that it is I, Jubei Shitagami, the Burning Heart dedicated to supreme justice that never gives in to evil!_

A figure walked out of the line of trees, his arms crossed.

"Give me your gold, or I _WILL_ kill you." He could be heard over the pounding rain. "I want your money, not your life, old man..." As he came closer, Jubei could begin to clearly see him through the rain.

It was just a boy. No older than sixteen years, with blonde-white hair like clean gold, even in the pouring rain. He was a ragged, pale little thing, homeless obviously, small and weak, but his green-blue eyes glared with intensity like a raptor's. He wore nothing but cloth trousers that were far too big for him.

Jubei laughed to himself with relief.

_Hah, I'd expected a burly escaped convict, or some type of wizard. At least, then, I'd have an EPIC DUEL on my hands!_

"Hah, boy," He barked, "how did you learn to earthbend like that?"

The boy's eyes widened, taken aback at the question. But he recovered his composure soon after.

"I won't ask again, old man!"

The boy held out his hand to the side and outstretched his palm; mud flowed up at his command and around his hand, and stretched into a large needle, solidifying into a lance of stone. He hefted the lance and rested the point at the base of Jubei's grizzly throat.

He repeated, "I won't. Ask. Again."

* * *

_I don't know if I can kill this man. Why can't he just give me the money I need?_

Hayden swallowed as he held the lance up to his throat, doing his best to keep a menacing face.

The man smiled back at him, even in the face of death. He was no older than thirty, with long black-as-coal hair that he kept in a ponytail. His sideburns were large and spike-shaped, and his eyes were hazel. He had the oddest clothing Hayden had ever seen.

He wore a bright red headband with an "X" on it, bright cyan robes, with steel gauntlets, shoulders, and leggings.

He was decently toned and should've been able to break free from his stone prison with no effort.

So he did.

He outstretched his arms suddenly with a roar, the stone cage exploding into a thousand fragments, the stone shrapnel knocking Hayden on his back. The rocks and pebbles stopped flying away from him, and came back, gravitating towards him like he was a magnet. The man stood calmly, the pebbles and rocks flowing around him like a tornado.

The man grinned. "Ah, boy, you've angered the great Jubei Shitagami."

Jubei lifted his hands, palm up towards the sky, and the rain stopped suddenly, the molecules of rain suspended in air. Hayden scrabbled on his back, his mouth open in sheer terror.

_This man can Earth AND Waterbend?_

"Now, I'm not going to ask again." The stones dropped, and the rain continued to fall like normal, as Jubei sat on the forest floor, crossing his legs, and raising one eyebrow.

"How did you learn to earthbend like that?"


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N): ****Keep the reviews coming. I really appreciate them; they improve my writing in ways that you wouldn't believe.**

**-Jakkani**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Sensei**

Jubei squirmed, trying to wiggle his way into Hayden's home.

He squirmed even harder, like a pinned down cat, his limbs flapping and whipping around as he struggled violently to get out of the dirt tunnel. His face was a deep violet; He was halfway out, stuck at the hips, trying to push himself out. Hayden grabbed his left hand, and Colin the right, and they heaved him out of the tunnel together. It collapsed behind him.

Jubei stood, bumping his head against the low roof in the complete darkness when he tried to stand. He had to crouch, and still his head brushed against the roof of the small cave. He dusted himself off as Hayden lit candles around the small home.

The first thing he noticed was the ventilation system. There were four small, finger thick iron pipes embedded in separate places around the ceiling that lead to the surface. Jubei could see, when looking through the pipes, that they had thin plastic hatches over them, so that smoke could flow out but the rain and dirt couldn't get in. It was an ingenious design.

The second thing he noticed, with an _ooh! _and an _ah!,_ was their food chamber. Hayden had a sphere filled with ice-water about as big as Jubei's torso laying under a small table in the corner. When he opened it, he noticed that the core of the sphere was hollowed out, and filled with meats and vegetables.

The third thing he noticed was Hayden and Colin, staring at him. Only then did he realize that he'd been running around the room, examining and inspecting everything in their home as if he were a child in a candy store.

Jubei stuttered the words, "Uh…this is a nice home you have here." Colin turned away without a word, disinterested, and opened a dirt-stained novel with missing pages. He cleaned his glasses with his rag of a shirt, and rested them on his tiny nose.

Hayden nodded as he took a seat on his bare, dirty mattress, next to the sleeping bundle of blankets that Jubei could only assume was his baby sister or brother. The mattress, of course, was on the ground.

Hayden broke the silence as he stared at his sleeping sibling, his voice even and calm, but still with a boyish tint. "Uh-huh. So, what? I gave you shelter from the rain. How are you going to repay me, besides fixing my entrance?"

Jubei twitched, suddenly realizing something. "Wait a minute."

Both Colin and Hayden looked up in unison.

"You're both orphans. How are you so well versed in language, and earth-bending?"

Colin looked back at his book, his dirty spectacles gleaming as he turned his head.

Hayden looked away, his eyes downcast. "We…we weren't always homeless."

For the first time, Jubei got a good, solid look at Hayden. He was either a younger sixteen, or an older fifteen, and his eyes were hard and cold as if he'd seen thirty or forty years of struggle, responsibility, and hardship. Regardless, he had the long, thin face of a young prince, but smeared with dirt and mud.

_This boy yearns for greatness._

Colin was similar to his brother, but different at the same time. They had the same face and eyes, but Colin's hair was curly and a darker blonde where Hayden's was near-white and straight. And, of course, he had circular spectacles that were aged and worn from use.

_And this boy yearns for knowledge. They are perfect._

Jubei crossed his arms and gave them a winning smile. "Very well, then," he proclaimed in a booming voice, "You two shall be my successors!"

Colin and Hayden both looked up in shock. "W…what?" They gasped at the same time.

"You heard me. I'm going to take you from this dirt hole, and teach you the arts, traveling all the Earth kingdom!"

Hayden regained his composure. "No." He turned away, picking up and folding the discarded clothes around the room

Jubei's mouth opened, gaping, searching for words, mentally backhanded.

"What…? WHY NOT!"

"I said no. We're fine where we are." Colin dropped his book, crossing the room and grabbing onto Hayden's arm. "Come on, brother. I don't like living like this."

"I don't either, Colin! But what about Margaret? She's too sick to travel. "

"She's too sick to stay here, too, Hayden."

Jubei cut in, "Look, Hayden. I know of bending, I know of art, I know of medicine, and I know of woodsmanship. I am moderately wealthy, and are more than capable of caring for two children."

Hayden stared at him for a moment, and then around at his home. All that he knew would be gone. He looked over at his brother, who pleaded desperately, and his sister, who just as desperately needed to leave here.

He sighed.

"Fine."

Jubei smiled brightly, his hair seeming to bristle.

"Um…" Colin said, shyly, "Mr. Shitagami, was it?"

Jubei looked down at him; even whilst crouching, he was taller than him. "Yes?"

"How are we going to get back through the entrance?"


End file.
